New York, Oct 31, 2013 (SPS) - The Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Christopher Ross, presented Wednesday his report on the Saharawi question to the Security Council, suggesting the launch of "a new phase in the negotiations based on discreet and separate bilateral exchanges with each of the parties (Morocco and the Frente Polisario)."
Mr. Ross held consultations behind closed doors with the decision-making body of the United Nations following the tour that has led him to the region from 7 to 25 October 2013.
According to the statement released by the UN at the end of this meeting, Mr. Ross informed the Security Council that he plans to return to the region in the coming weeks to pursue «a new approach to ending the dispute over the territory.
Christopher Ross, in this context, told the UN Security Council that he has launched "a new phase in the negotiations based on discreet and separate bilateral exchanges with each of the parties – Morocco and the Frente Polisario."
According to the same statement, Mr. Ross would convene another round of face-to-face negotiations between the parties "only when prospects for progress at a joint meeting of the parties improve."
In addition, the Security Council also heard to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Wolfgang Weisbrod-Weber, who reported on continued efforts of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which he heads since 2012.
Mr. Weisbrod-Weber reported on MINURSO’s continued efforts to monitor the ceasefire and its support for humanitarian programmes and demining activities.
A few days ago, the UN Decolonization Committee passed a draft resolution on the question of Western Sahara, in which it recommended to the UN General Assembly to support the negotiation process in order to achieve a "fair, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution which allows for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara."
Considered by the UN since 1964 as a non-autonomous territory, Western Sahara is the last colony in Africa occupied by Morocco, supported by France, since 1975. (SPS)
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